GRAE V3 Ch.6, Arrows

    “Total of five wounds. Upper chest. Forearm. One arrow each in the hypogastric and left lumbar regions of the abdomen. Last arrow is in the thigh. Praying it missed the femoral artery,” Azure reported quietly to herself, sprinting back to camp with Greyson, Kita, Dustyn, Pierce, and Raven.

    “Oh... the sky...” Kita weakly remarked. Upon breaking into the clearing surrounding the base, Greyson looked up. Faint streaks of light flashed across the black sky before fading away. Any other night, this would be beautiful. Tonight, the meteor shower was an omen of disaster.

    “The sky will crumble...” Kita mumbled, as if half-asleep.

   “Kita, we’re almost here! Stay with us!” Greyson demanded, running up the stairs. Once inside, Greyson ran into the bedroom he had shared with Azure, carefully placing Kita down on the unused bed. By the time he had arrived, a thin layer of fresh blood covered from Kita’s neck to her waist. Greyson stumbled out of the room, collapsing with exhaustion. Azure immediately began to work on Kita’s wounds.

   “Greyson, you okay man? You weren’t hurt too were you?” Rusty worriedly asked, coming over to Greyson’s side.

    “No... I just ran... two miles... carrying Kita,” Greyson panted, shoveling his words out between breaths. A slight smile came to his face. “Looks like those runs with Azure did come in handy.”

    Rusty breathed a sigh of relief and helped Greyson up. “Raven, Pierce. You guys okay too?” He asked. Both nodded.

   A tortured scream broke through the door of the room Azure and Kita occupied. Nearly everyone flinched. “It’s like Azure’s doing surgery, but Kita’s totally awake... this has to be traumatizing for both of them,” Greyson stated. He walked over to the couch and turned the television on, trying to keep his mind off things. Another pained yell came from the room.

   “I-I’m going to g-go outside,” Raven said. She briskly walked toward the door and left.

   Thirty minutes passed, the screaming and yelling continuing. Everyone who still remained inside had found some way to try to block out the agonized sounds. Greyson’s stomach turned thinking about the medical procedures happening in the bedroom. Then, the screaming stopped.

    A few minutes later, Azure opened the door, somewhat dazed. She walked to the wall next to the entrance of the room, crossed her arms on the wall, put her head against them, and was silent.

    “Azure, is Kita...” Greyson began to ask. He trailed off, hoping the silence would suffice to complete his question.

    Azure raised her head, looked over her shoulder, and flashed a tired smile that caught everyone off guard.

   “Kita’s going to be okay.”

   The room breathed a collective sigh of relief. Kita, although culturally distanced from everyone, had made quick friends with the members of GRAE and VRDE.

   “You guys can come in now if you want,” Azure welcomed. Greyson, Ember, and Pierce walked to the door. Rusty went to fetch the three who had stepped outside.

   “Oh, Greyson,” Azure said abruptly. “I’m going to watch over Kita tonight, to make sure she’s okay. I hate to ask this, but could you find someone to take over my shift on the nightwatch?”

    “Yeah, I’ve got you covered. Make sure to get your sleep though,” Greyson reminded.

   Azure nodded slightly, then gave a downcast look to her side.

   “Is there something bothering you?” Greyson asked, aware of Azure’s expression.

   Azure sighed. “The arrow in her lower stomach was really deep. I doubt she’ll be able to have children now,” she quietly responded. “You can stop the mission any time, right? Can we please get her to a hospital tomorrow? I’ve done a good job on stopping the blood, removing the arrows, and healing the wounds, but I couldn’t do much about the organ damage.”

   “Right,” Greyson confirmed. He raised his voice. “Everyone! We return to Beacon tomorrow.”

    A few seconds later, Ember walked out of Kita’s room. “Kit has a response to that,” she reported.

    Greyson followed Ember back into Kita’s room. Kita rested on the bed, a single sheet blanketing her upper half. Nearly her entire torso was covered in neatly wrapped bandages, as well as her right forearm. Her hair was untied for the first time, and her face was tired, made sweaty by the intense pain she had just endured.

   “You must not leave yet, the Great Calamity is coming,” Kita reminded.

   “Kita. If we don’t get you out of here, you’re going to die,” Greyson urged.

   “If that is what it means to save my tribe, then so be it.”

   “No. Nobody’s going to die under my command. We have to leave,” Greyson implored.

   “Then I will not go back.”

    Greyson took a deep breath. “Fine. We’ll help with the Great Calamity. After that, we’re heading straight home.”

   With this final decision, and the reassurance that Kita had survived the emergency surgery and had Azure watching over her, the members of GRAE and VRDE one by one began to go to sleep. The night was rather normal, until the ground began to shake.